City govt budget approved amid meek protest

LAHORE - The District Council on Wednesday unanimously approved budget of the City District Government, LDA, WASA and TEPA with a collective outlay of Rs 30.73 billion for the fiscal year 2008-09.
District Nazim Mian Amer Mahmood presented the budget, which the house unanimously approved after addition of proposals from the treasury and opposition members. District Naib Nazim Idrees Hanif presided over the budget session.
After the budget speech, the members both from the treasury and opposition benches were asked to give their suggestions.
A handful of opposition members particularly those from the PML-N opposed the budget. The members including Waheed Alam Khan, Tariq Gill, Muhammad Akbar Khan, Muhammad Ilyas, Nazir Khan Sawati, Majid Zahoor opposed the budget claiming that it was not in the favour of the citizens of Lahore. They said that in the budget, funds had been allocated for those areas where the treasury members were residing and that the funds would be spent at such areas where the development had already been made. They strongly criticised the services of WASA claiming that the agency delivers nothing except to utilize the public money for salaries and other office expenditures. They raised slogans against Mian Amer Mahmood saying that he had destroyed the City in the last seven years.
When the house members were asked to vote for the approval of the budget, opposition members walked out from the assembly raising slogans against President Musharraf and Mian Amer.
During budget debate, around 20 members of the house including that of opposition highlighted both the positive and negative aspects of the budget. During the debate, almost 10 proposals were given by the members that include increase of development funds of minority wing members, formation of implementation committee for the budget, regularisation of work charge employees, empowering district assembly members to call the rolls of sanitary workers, establishment of at least three to four waste enclosures in each union council, increase in the number of sanitary workers, extend WASA services in entire Lahore and establishment of flyovers at Saman Abad Morr, Multan Road and Chowk Yatim Khana. The leader of the house accepted all the proposals.